And They Ran From Him
by bleached.to.an.inch.of.my.life
Summary: And they ran from him...and he smiled at their retreating backs.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Much that I want to, i do not own Naruto. Put away the lawsuits.

A/N: Note the pen name. I read Bleach more than I do Naruto so things might be a little OOC. Sorry for that. Another thing, this is my first Naruto fic. Any feed back would be greatly appreciated. If there are any glaring mistakes, tell me and I'll gladly repair them. In my own time. Enjoy

This is before and after time skip.

1. And they ran from him.

He never knew the reason. He was too young. He knew smiling faces, he heard laughter, he knew _happiness._

But what he saw the most was how their expressions changed when he even looked their way.

He knew _fear_. Because that was what he saw the most.

He hated them.

And they ran from him…and he smiled at their retreating backs.

* * *

2. And they laughed at him.

'Dead last' they called him. Not that any of them took any pains to hide it from him or anything. Calling him 'that name' in front of anybody present and the next person.

Not that he really cared. Not that much.

He told himself that. Over and over…

He even almost believes himself.

The blood dripping from his clenched fist says otherwise.

The look on his face when they fell into a hole carefully concealed with dirt and dead leaves, followed by a shower of hot-pink paint and blue, sparkling feathers, on the other hand, screamed volumes.

And they laughed at him…and he laughed back.

Preferably, louder than they did.

* * *

3. And they fought him.

They didn't accept him.

He was dead last.

Dead last equals dead weight. Worthless.

Sasuke-teme made it clear with a piercing glance. Sakura-chan shouted, literally. Kakashi-sensei said it all in a turn of a page.

Others weren't so subtle.

They ridiculed him. They said he had no talent. They said he was brainless. They said it was _fated_ for him to fail.

He grinned wildly back at them and charged.

They fought him…he shouted his ninja way at them, a little louder this time.

Just to make sure they hadn't missed it.

* * *

4. And they left him.

His precious people. Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei…all his friends. They meant everything to him.

That was why he knew it was bound to happen some time. It was all too good to be true.

But that didn't mean he'd take it lying down.

He fought hard. Flesh rent, blood spilt …_searing pain_.

And as the hitai-ate with a slash mark across the Konoha leaf symbol fell with a clang, Sasuke left.

He had failed Sakura-chan…

Even though he knew some day they would leave him. It didn't mean he'll take it lying down…

That was why he was leaving as well.

To get stronger…

And the fact that they left him…they will leave him…didn't mean he'd let them go that easily.

And as for Sasuke-teme…he'll bring the bastard back kicking and screaming if he had to.

On to chapter two!!

Leave a review? Please do


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: ...And as the computer screen winked into darkness signalling a dead battery, the author grinned humorlessly and said "Do I even LOOK like Masashi Kishimoto?"

A/N: Those of you who made it this far, thank you for reading.

* * *

1. And they ran to him.

At first it was hardly believable. But, truth be told, nobody could be as _loud_ as him.

The fashion sense itself fairly screamed volumes. Nobody could bare the sight of so much orange, or even stand actually contact with the color.

Though to be fair, it was rather subdued this time around, hence the doubting.

But when there was a thundering crash followed by the now scarcely heard outrageous shriek of a certain pink-haired, fairly pissed kunoichi, everyone who knew immediately broke into a wide grin.

Hinata squeaked and blushed so _red_, everyone in the vicinity thought she might have had an aneurism.

Neji, seeing this, smiled knowingly and kindly offered the heiress to be her escort on a walk around Konoha.

Kiba broke into uproarious laughter and whistled for Akamaru. Settling himself on his new perch, he speedily ran of closely followed by a near expressionless Shino. Near expressionless because under that wide collar, he was grinning like a mad man.

Shikamaru opened a lazy eye, the piece of grass he was chewing threatening to fall from his lips as they slipped into a half smile-half frown position.

"Ah, troublesome," he muttered and went back to cloud watching with zest. He knew Chouji would be coming around any minute now…

Dobe was back.

Grinning…they ran to him.

* * *

2. And they fought with him.

Blood stains on his clothes, some of it his, most of it his enemy's.

He grinned that familiar fox grin, adding a mischievous touch to a face that otherwise screamed cold blooded killer.

Chakra gathered in his hands as they practically flew through the hand signs even as pain sliced through his body.

The familiar sensations of battle washed though him but he was completely relaxed.

A threatening burst of red chakra came from his left, aiming at his head. Fast…an inch from contact…only to be deflected as Sakura barreled the offending ninja in the stomach, having appeared almost noiselessly and wreaking loud havoc as the man was thrown back into a tree that toppled backwards from the force.

All the time he hadn't even flinched

"Watch out baka!" she yelled as she wiped the dust of her dress.

"Yeah, you do that for me," he grinned back, the rasengan already twirling in his right hand.

And without a backwards glance, he lunged into the foray of flying steel and crackling chakra.

Kiba and Akamaru quickly jumped backwards away, leaving the target suddenly open only to have a rasengan pushed up his stomach a few seconds later.

Like clockwork, like fucking clockwork, thought Shikamaru as he concentrated on his own jutsu so that the enemy was immobile and Hinata made her kill without any problems.

Everything was going according to plan.

They were fighting together and he couldn't help but grin.

They fought with him.

Those freaking bastards never stood a chance.

* * *

3. And they stayed with him.

The sky was oddly blue to him today, he thought to himself as he lay on the harsh terrain.

It somehow didn't quite end up the same way as he had always imagined but things do have knack of coming out in the least expected way. Especially when it came to him.

Around him he could hear the sounds of combat, raging fiercely…

Suddenly his vision of the sky was obscured by pink.

Pink? Sakura…his mind registered sluggishly.

A grin tried to break out but he thought it probably looked like he was having constipation judging by the way Sakura-chan's face changed.

"Aaahhh…sorry Sakura-chan," he managed to choke out, surprising himself that it had been so hard to say it.

"Don't say that baka. Just keep still. We'll get you through this," she said. Her hands began to glow from green chakra which she then held to his wounds.

Not that he was paying her anymore attention.

"_We'll get you through this."_

Dimly, he began to hear familiar voices in the noises around him.

Shikamaru and Chouji, yelling defiance as they cut down the approaching enemy, Hinata and Neji, wordlessly synchronized, the only sound emanating from the two was the rush of chakra surrounding them, Lee, positively loud in his fights.

…and a red cloud against a black background…swirls across his vision.

Akatsuki.

Realization shook him. They had come after him. They had stayed with him.

Even after he had expressly told them to get the hell back to Konoha.

Not only that, they were fighting for him.

"Oi, you there, punk?" he thought. Not voicing out loud because he knew that the subject in question would hear him.

"Never thought I'd be happy to say this but, yeah," came the reply.

Naruto grinned, unknowingly mirroring his tenant.

Softly pushing a disapproving Sakura away, he stood up.

His injuries forgotten as they healed almost instantly, courtesy of said tenant.

"We have a bone to pick with them, don't we?" grinned Naruto as he brought his hands up already half performing the seals.

Kyuubi no youko howled in response.

The world burst into red.

They stayed with him, saved him, fought for him.

And he was gonna kill those Akatsuki bastards to return the favor.

After all, he _had_ put them through all this grief.

Thanks for reading. Oh and yeah, I am aware that there is one part missing, I just couldn't make it fit. To those of you who are aware, you might realize what I mean. If you don't, ignore this incoherent rambling.

Leave a review? Yes please.


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